Lucille`s - Proliphix

CASUAL DINING CHAIN SLASHES HVAC SERVICE EXPENSES,
CUTS CARBON FOOTPRINT WITH PROLIPHIX
“I’m amazed at the simplicity, low-cost, time savings and diagnostic power of our Proliphix solution."
Ryan Hofman, Lucille’s Facility Manager
PROBLEM
• Chronic HVAC problems and manual
programming were time consuming
and costly
• Multiple facilities needed to be
managed remotely
• Staff and patron environmental
comfort needed improvement
SOLUTION
• Proliphix Uniphy Network Thermostats
• Remote sensors for asset protection
• Univista Energy Management software
for Internet-managed energy control
BENEFITS
• Greater damage protection – data
and alarms showed atrisk equipment,
saved thousands
• Improved control –all locations are
programmed from a single site, by a
single person saving 10 hours monthly
• More comfortable working and dining
environment
Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ is a
staple among Californians for
casual dining with a southern,
country barbecue feel. As a family
restaurant Lucille’s is known for
its comfortable environment and
quality service. Establishing a
wildly successful regional franchise
starting with its Long Beach,
California location, Lucille’s
opened several additional locations
averaging ten thousand square
feet each. Boasting 13 locations
and quickly expanding, Lucille’s
demonstrates forward thinking
and an innovative approach that
attracts the interest of customers
and competitors.
PROBLEM
Scorching summer days and cool
winter nights mean patrons look
to Lucille’s as a retreat from wild
swings in outdoor temperatures.
Restaurant managers pay great
attention to keep environmental
controls optimally set for the best
dining experience possible. The
original, traditional thermostats
in the flagship restaurant proved
frustrating, requiring constant
adjustment. Thermostats were
difficult to set accurately, lacked
data monitoring and lacked remote
access. Lucille’s Facilities Manager
Ryan Hofman knew they needed a
better way to monitor the company’s
environmental comfort systems to
ease the management of an increasing
amount of restaurants. Experiencing
a high amount of service calls and
downtime for HVAC adjustments
made the desire to change even
greater.
Hofman knew remote management
would be a huge time saver for
himself and restaurant managers.
He wanted to check on facilities
and monitor the efficiency of HVAC
equipment across independent
zones and stores to protect the
equipment assets of several Lucille’s
Smokehouse BBQ sites. Further,
he wanted an affordable and highly
robust system that could be easily
programmed in a hassle free
manner to reduce service calls
and related expenses.
• Less environmental impact
Lucille’s Long Beach location.
3 LAN Drive, Suite 100, Westford, MA 01886 I ph: 866.475.4846 I fx: 978.692.3378 I www.proliphix.com
“We installed the system in several locations and find
new ways we are saving money constantly,” said Hofman
SOLUTION
BENEFITS
After painstakingly researching
thermostats with remote Internet
monitoring, mobile alarm alerts, data
monitoring and easy programming,
Hofman grew dismayed by the
expense of outdated technologies
viewed as industry standards.
Doubts quickly disappeared after
discovering Proliphix’s Internet
thermostats.
“Once the air conditioner sensors
were installed we immediately
found our problem,” Hofman said.
“We found a unit requiring a
simple adjustment and saved
thousands over an HVAC service
provider’s recommendation to
replace the entire unit. What was
once our worst location in terms of
staff complaints for poor cooling is
now one of our most comfortable.”
Proliphix offered Lucille’s Internetmanaged energy conservation
at a fraction of the cost of other
options. An industry leader for
inexpensive energy conservation
products, Proliphix worked directly
with Hofman to equip two Lucille’s
locations, in Long Beach and
Cerritos, California, with the
best possible equipment.
The Long Beach installation
retrofitted existing controls with
Proliphix products as a one-to-one
replacement with additional
sensors placed strategically
throughout the facility. The
Cerritos installation occurred during
initial construction. Each location
utilizes Proliphix Professional Series
thermostats in addition to duct
and zone temperature sensors.
Duct sensors were placed inside
the air conditioner supply plenum
and zone sensors were placed
throughout the building. In
addition to controlling the air
conditioners, there is one thermostat
controlling a boiler for the patio
radiant heating system.
The plenum sensor of the faulty
air conditioner helped Lucille’s
discover a combination of airborne
kitchen grease and an inadequate
air filter preventing the unit’s
condensers from sufficiently cooling
the air. A little elbow grease and a
proper filter made the unit operate
more efficiently, saving Lucille’s
more than 10 thousand dollars
over its HVAC service provider’s
recommendation to replace the
entire unit. The restaurant also
saved money and man hours
through reduced truck rolls and
service calls.
Lucille’s new thermostats are
easily programmable by a single
person, remotely, across every
zone and store saving Hofman
more than 10 hours per month
in related work. Additionally,
managers are afforded three hour
override adjustments to fine tune
temperature settings as needed.
These adjustments are visible in
the remote management interface
allowing for monitoring of abuse or
the need to adjust programmed
settings. Further, equipment and
installation cost a fraction of
competing products.
“I’m amazed at the simplicity,
low-cost, time savings and
diagnostic power of our Proliphix
solution,” Hofman said. “We installed
the system in several locations
and find new ways we are saving
money constantly. Staff from
neighboring, national dining
chains checked out our system
and they were as amazed as
we are with the quality and
simplicity!”
Lucille’s outfitted 5 locations
with Proliphix Internet controlled
thermostats and plans to install
the equipment in its remaining
facilities and its next venture, a
series of quick casual restaurants
averaging five thousand square
feet. The company is installing
Proliphix’s Univista software for
local hosting and even greater
flexibility. Hofman plans to use
the software to track run-time to
queue preventive maintenance by
actual need, rather than arbitrarily
opting for quarterly service.
Whether reducing service calls,
monitoring and protecting equipment, streamlining programming
or improving green energy usage,
Proliphix thermostats help maximize profitability.
3 LAN Drive, Suite 100, Westford, MA 01886 I ph: 866.475.4846 I fx: 978.692.3378 I www.proliphix.com